Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to athletic training devices, specifically a racquet grip teaching device.
Description of the Related Art
In tennis and in all racquet sports such as racquetball and squash, players use several grips (i.e. specifically how the player's hand interfaces with the handle of the racquet). In fact, during the course of playing tennis, one player may constantly make grip adjustments. The particular grip a player uses may vary because of the type of shot to be hit. For example, the serve, volley and overhead are appropriately hit using a continental grip. To hit a forehand or backhand, a player may use a variety of different grips ranging from an eastern to a full western grip.
Regardless of the grip the player chooses to use, the grip of the racquet is the foundation of all tennis shots. How a player holds the racquet influences the angle of the racquet face, where the player must meet the ball in relationship to his or her body, and especially what happens when the impact between the ball and racquet occurs. Failure to properly grip a racquet will result in poorer performance during a game and even small variations in the interface between the players hand and the racquet can result in an improper grip. Additionally, a proper grip is generally not how a player who is learning the game will tend to grip the racquet. Thus a large part of teaching/training is wrapped up in teaching and maintaining proper grips.
In tennis, there are four basic grips: continental, eastern, semi-western and western. Each of these grips has advantages and disadvantages. One of the most important grips for a tennis player to master is the continental grip. The continental grip is one of the most useful grips for a tennis player to learn because it may be used on a variety of shots including the player's serve, overhead, both forehand and backhand volleys and half-volleys as well as the slice forehand and slice backhand ground strokes. The continental grip is particularly useful for a player that serves and volleys because the player may hit the serve, volley and overhead with one grip. Of all of these shots, the serve with a continental grip is one of the most difficult shots to hit and, not surprisingly, the continental serve is one of the most difficult shots for tennis teaching professionals to teach. As many players are learning this shot, they struggle to consistently and correctly serve by using the continental grip in part because the continental grip feels awkward and uncomfortable.
Even if a player invests in private tennis lessons, the implementation of the continental grip while serving is difficult and the tennis player often does not realize that he or she is using the incorrect grip. For example, a tennis player who has initially learned to serve by using an eastern grip may gravitate back toward the use of the eastern grip on his or her serve even after being taught the continental grip serve. As a result, many tennis players struggle to make the change to the continental grip serve which may significantly preclude them from improving the quality of their tennis skills. Similar issues arise when players try to learn continental grip volleys or when players try to learn any other grip that is new to them. Without the consistent and correct practice with the new grip, improvement is difficult.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,110, issued to Jones, discloses a detachable grip for tennis racket handles having finger and hand indentations accommodating different positions of the hand for forehand and backhand strokes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,381, issued to Aaron, discloses a grip for a tennis racket handle, the grip providing guides for proper gripping techniques and tending to discourage improper gripping techniques. A projection extends from the bottom of the handle to receive the forefinger both to place the forefinger and to provide a trigger for leverage in striking a ball. The side of the handle has a curved ridge, the rearward edge of which defines a thumb recess and the forward edge of which defines a trigger for a backhand grip. A knob rearwardly of the thumb recess defines the rear of the recess without obstructing other gripping techniques. A butt ridge provides a sufficient ridge to give the player a sure grip on the racket. The grip may be symmetrical, so the same grip can be used for both left-hand and right-hand gripping techniques.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,000, issued to Baker, discloses a training grip that can be installed onto a tennis racquet handle for positioning a tennis player's hand or hands correctly on the racquet to teach or train the player individual tennis strokes. The training grip is adapted to be easily and removably installed onto the eight-sided handle of a tennis racquet directly over an existing grip that is permanently affixed to the racquet. The training grip is an elongated cup having a slit that runs lengthwise from the first end of the grip to the opposing second end of the grip and through the bottom of the grip through which the grip may be installed onto the racquet handle. The outer surface of the grip is molded to have ridges and depressions creating contours for receiving and positioning the player's fingers and thumbs of the player's hand or hands. The grip is used to teach or train the player on the proper hand positioning for various methods of holding the tennis racquet commonly used to achieve various tennis strokes including the Continental Forehand, the Semi-Western Forehand, the Western Forehand, the Eastern Backhand, and the Two-Handed Backhand.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,455, issued to Thomas, discloses a training grip for a tennis racket. The training grip has a series of protrusions and recesses that receive a user's hand and place it in proper position for a particular grip type. The present invention, in one embodiment, includes a universal training grip that allows the grip to be used for more than one grip type. The present invention includes methods, systems and kits that encompass such a tennis training grip.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,762, issued to Schroeder, discloses a grip trainer for positioning a user's hand on a sports racquet includes a base configured to be removably attached to the sports racquet handle in a plurality of different positions that correspond to different grips related to the sport for which the racquet is designed for use, a finger positioning device that includes a generally cylindrical projection extending upwardly from the base and configured to position the user's hand on the racquet handle in one of the plurality of positions. A method of positioning a user's hand in any of the forehand, backhand, and service position on a tennis racquet also is disclosed.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being difficult to use, being cumbersome to use, being uncomfortable, being limited in use, being inconsistent, being limited in application, being unduly complex, being expensive, being difficult to apply to a racquet/handle, requiring straps and/or tie-downs, failing to remain in place during use, being difficult to install/apply, separating too large a portion of the player's hand from the racquet, changing the feel of the racquet handle too much, failing to fit multiple grip/finger sizes, failing to fit multiple handle/racquet sizes, not being adaptable, failing to force a correct grip, failing to restrict inappropriate movement of the hand with respect to a racquet, failing to allow fingers and thumb movement, being difficult to manufacture, being too heavy, not being durable, blocking the view of the players hand while in operation, being unduly complex to use, being too large, and/or requiring a trainer during use.
What is needed is a racquet grip teaching device that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.